updated 07:55 pm EST, Sat December 25, 2010

Dell drops Adamo 13 to 899 in possible final cut

Dell today dropped the price of the Adamo 13 while also giving it a major speed increase to keep it ahead of the MacBook Air. The system has fallen from $1,099 to $899 while giving it the same specifications as the previous high-end model. It has left the 1.4GHz, ultra-low voltage Core 2 Duo from the old versions and has moved up to the significantly faster 2.13GHz chip.

The newly adopted spec also gives it a 128GB solid-state drive, 4GB of RAM and a 64-bit install of Windows 7 Home Premium. Options are few on the system outside of an AT&T-capable 3G modem. Its relatively upscale 13.4-inch design persists and has relatively broad expansion, including two USB ports (one with eSATA), Ethernet and DisplayPort. The six-cell battery is, like that on Apple's system, sealed in but can last for as much as five hours.

Dell's Adamo line was designed from the start to try and counter the MacBook Air but has had a relatively muted response since it was unveiled in March 2009. The company has cut prices and launched performance upgrades to remain competitive; it also rolled out the short-lived Adamo XPS. Neither company has broken out sales figures, but Apple has overall had less pressure to reduce prices and upgrade specs.

The Adamo 13 at its new cost is potentially more cost-efficient than the 13-inch Apple system with a faster processor and more RAM, but it runs on much slower Intel graphics, has shorter battery life, and lacks an SD card slot. Dell's closest equivalent to the 11-inch Air is the Inspiron M101z, but it runs on much slower Athlon II processors and conventional spinning hard drives. [viaCNET]